Concurrent BS/Masters Program Overview

1. Apply for the concurrent program by the end of your junior year. If you are planning to graduate in the Spring, applications must be submitted BEFORE the end of the Spring semester. If you are planning to graduate in the Fall, applications must be submitted BEFORE the end of the Fall semester. Applications will not be accepted after the end of that semester or at the beginning of your senior year.

2. You must have a GPA of 3.3 in your last 60 semester hours of technical work and cumulative overall GPA. Your GPA will be figured after the grades for the last semester of your junior year are posted. Acceptance to Step 1 with “incomplete grades” will be at the discretion of the ECE Graduate Committee or ECE Graduate Chairman.

3. You MUST submit a 2-year plan and a masters check sheet with the application. This
plan will include the courses that will finish the requirements for the
BS degree and the courses to fill the requirements for the masters
degree. The masters check sheet outlines the courses you will take to fill the requirements for the masters degree.

There are two masters degrees available, each requiring a minimum of 30 credits to complete. A Master of Engineering is course-work based and a Master of Science is research-based. They both have specializations in Electrical Engineering or Computer Engineering.

4. Your
application will be reviewed by the ECE Graduate Committee and you will
be notified of the decision via email before the beginning of the next
semester.

5. You are not required to apply for BS graduation, but we encourage you to do so. You need to apply the first semester of your senior year (or the semester BEFORE you would graduate with your BS degree).

The reasons are:

Ø Should you be declined or decide not to
pursue the concurrent program because of job opportunities or personal
reasons, you will already have the paper work finished.

Ø You will NOT have to pay the $50 fee for late application (instead of the required $10 fee).

Ø You CANNOT file a Split Form until you have applied for BS graduation.

6. If you are accepted, you will become a Concurrent Candidate.

You will NOT receive EITHER degree until the requirements are completed for BOTH degrees.

STEP 2:

1. You will apply to the Graduate School and have your GRE test submitted by the following dates:

Spring Graduates – September 1st of the first semester in your senior year (take the GRE in the summer)

Fall Graduates – January 1st of the first semester in your senior year (take the GRE over the holiday break)

It will take 2-3 weeks for the official test
scores to reach Utah State University School of Graduate Studies and
forwarded to the ECE Department. PLEASE ALLOW THIS TIME TO MAKE THE DEADLINE!

NO EXCEPTIONS ARE MADE FOR THESE DEADLINES.

2. The Graduate School requires a 40% or better on the verbal and quantitative sections of the GRE. As an engineer, the ECE Department requires a much higher score (75% minimum) on the quantitative section. We look strongly at verbal, quantitative, and analytical. Awards are available for those with higher percentiles. PLEASE TAKE THE GRE SERIOUSLY!

3. Your graduate application will be reviewed, and if you are accepted, you will become a concurrent student. Students
who are not accepted into the concurrent program because of low GRE
scores are encouraged to finish their BS degree, retake the GRE, and
reapply to the graduate program.

4. GPA Information:

Ø If your cumulative USU GPA drops below 3.3, you will be put on probation for the next semester. If you do not bring your GPA back to 3.3 that semester, you will be terminated from the concurrent program.

Ø If your cumulative USU GPA drops below 3.0 any semester, you will be terminated from the concurrent program.

5. You will need to file a Split Form the semesters that you are taking 5000-level courses. This will insure that your 5000-level courses are counted toward the correct degree and are on the correct transcript. The same credits CANNOT count toward both degrees.

6. You
will begin paying graduate tuition the semester that you have 21
credits left, no matter which degree those credits will be counted
toward. On a normal 2-year plan, this should be for only two semesters.

Policy to Finish Degrees

If
a BS/Masters Concurrent student has not finished the requirements for
both the BS and Masters degrees within two years of the last
registered
course on the 2-year plan and Program of Study, then he/she
will be
terminated from the BS/Masters Concurrent Program.

If
the student has applied for BS graduation and has finished all the
requirements for the BS degree, then the two 5000-level courses that
were applied to the Masters degree will be put back into the BS degree
and the BS degree will be awarded.

The student will need to reapply to the ECE Masters Program and go through the normal review and decision process.

If
the student has not applied for BS graduation and has not finished
all
the requirements for the BS degree, then the student must finish
the
requirements to receive the BS degree.

The student may then apply for the Masters program, if desired, and go through the normal review and decision process.